Jess Humpston
Jess Humpston — 'Vessel #02', 2026 in Celery Top Pine
'The Patchwork Vessel series utilises the maker's own workshop material waste stream from past design commissions. Each vessel is comprised of multiple pieces of timber offcuts either too short to machine or with imperfections such as splits and knots. The timber is Celery Top Pine, salvaged from the submerged forest in Lake Pieman, Tasmania and sourced via Hydrowood. Taking cues from the submersion story of the timber and the forests lost beneath the hydro-electric lake, the vessels are designed to hold water and a single flower stem. The form of each piece varies and is determined by the size of timber offcuts available. The offcuts are laminated together as a 'patchwork' with 3mm gaps and held in place with poured pewter connectors acting as dry joiners.
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Jess Humpston is a Naarm/Melbourne based designer-maker. A background in both fashion and interior design has given Jess a finely tuned understanding of the space a piece of furniture inhabits and a sensitivity to the interaction between person and object. Working predominantly in timber, Jess's work balances traditional woodworking with architectural character, contrasting clean lines with tactility of the hand-made. Jess's work is minimal, yet detail focussed and her practice elevates everyday functional requirements with the unexpected.
Main Gallery
May 2 - June 27, 2026
Felled reimagines timber supply sources in contemporary woodworking practice. Seven makers and designers with a specialised knowledge of timber engage the material beyond newly processed, machined slabs and find possibilities in existing materials including timber waste and plant-debris as furniture and object-design making material.
Felled joins the discussion on practices of consumption through the exploration of a single material - timber. It considers the environmental impacts of extractive processes and positions new systems of working with existing materials. The exhibition celebrates makers and their specialised practices as invaluable thinkers. It is through small-scale studio practices where deep connections to and empathy with a material sparks innovation and new thinking.
Big ideas for a better future begin in the studio.
The exhibition forms part of Conscious Craft – a Craft Victoria initiative showcasing innovative creations by makers and designers who are actively considering sustainability and ethics in their production methods and use of materials.
This event is part of Melbourne Design Week 2026, an initiative of the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria
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Material: Celery top pine, pewter
Dimensions: approx. 230 x 420 x 55mm
Please note when purchasing, exhibition works are to be collected when exhibition closes.
Shipping costs may be estimates. Please feel free to contact shop@craft.org.au who will be available to provide an Art Courier quote or shipping costs for larger items.